Supreme Court seeks Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia status in criminal contempt case

AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal (right) with party leader Manish Sisodia in New Delhi. File. | Photo credit: PTI

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) issued notice to AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and others in a suo motu contempt proceeding initiated by Justice Swaran Kanta Sharma over an alleged scandal campaign on social media targeting her.

Justice Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja notified the politicians of the suo motu contempt case filed against them by Justice Sharma and gave them four weeks to file their reply.

“Notice of issue. The alleged contemnors shall file their reply within a period of four weeks from receipt of notice,” the bench said while listing the case for next hearing on August 4.

On May 14, Justice Sharma initiated criminal contempt proceedings against Mr Kejriwal, Mr Sisodia and other AAP leaders for their “defamatory” social media posts against her in connection with the excise duty policy case.

Justice Sharma alleged that the former Delhi chief minister “orchestrated a calculated campaign” of defamation against her on social media instead of pursuing her legal remedies and clarified that the CBI’s petition against the discharge of all the accused persons will now be taken up by another bench.

The judge took exception to several social media posts by proposed contemporaries that ascribed “political loyalty” and “affiliation” to her and allegedly targeted her by posting a misleading “edited” video of a speech she delivered at an educational institution in Varanasi.

She also noted the wide circulation of clips from the case’s trial, stating that proposed contemporaries created “parallel narratives” and that “remaining silent” was not a judicial restraint but a “surrender to a powerful litigant”.

On 27 February, the trial court acquitted Mr. Kejriwal, Mr. Sisodia and 21 others in the liquor policy case, ruling that the case was completely incapable of surviving judicial review and was discredited as a whole.

After Justice Sharma rejected their pleas seeking her dismissal in the CBI’s petition against their discharge from the case on April 20, Mr. Kejriwal, Mr. Sisodia and Pathak wrote a letter to Justice Sharma, saying they would not appear before her in person or through counsel and would follow the “path of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha”.

(with inputs from PTI)

Published – 19 May 2026 12:21 PM IST